Showing posts with label Steel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steel. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Flow of Trade Disputes Are as Solid as Steel - They Aren't Going Away Anytime Soon

Some things are worth protecting they say, and one could argue that the steel industry in the US is one of them, and the history to back up that argument is far and wide - trust me. Still, there is a difference between protecting something and protectionism. Okay so, let's talk about this because the politics here in the US when it comes to such things are also quite complex and serious.

It seems we are our own worst enemy 75% of the time, especially when it comes to steel. We've destroyed our mining industry and made it jump through almost impossible environmental hoops, many are way over the top and out of line when it comes to iron ore. But it also takes a special kind of coal to make steel, and that coal comes from many places where over regulation has made mining that coal completely unmanageable.

Now we are worried about foreign nations dumping steel on our markets, often steel which isn't even close to our real needs, mostly because our iron ore in the US is much more pure, but also our standards in manufacturing are higher as well. Nothing new, we went through this before with Japan also. Reuters had a piece recently justifying the tariffs we've put on Chinese steel pipes imported to the US; " U.S. Steel warns imports threatening pipe market," by Matt Daily posted on June 19, 2012. The article stated;

"Steel imports have jumped nearly 28% this year. U.S. Steel has been among the most vocal in the industry in pointing to potential trade violations, and DC has increased pressure on both China and India. It had determined that Indian companies were selling circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe in the US nearly 50% percent below fair market value. Cheap Chinese steel imports have also attracted punitive duties in the US. China made those US duties the subject of a trade complaint at the WTO."

We ought to also talk about the quality of that steel, and its long-term survival rate from corrosion and rust in this debate. Still, cheap pipe is a good thing. Maybe we need fewer regulations here at home so we can compete head to head - and insist that other nations also implement similar restrictions on coking coal soot and CO2 and if they won't maybe we need to add that cost in tariff and give that money to the oil and gas industry. That would solve the problem.

And a big problem it is too, in fact, as I was almost completed with this article another ominous piece appeared in the same business newspaper "Steelmakers Gird for a Downturn" by John W. Miller and Mathew Day on June 20, 2012 which cited a perfect storm - increased US regulations, increased employee costs (ObamaCare), slaughtering of the coking coal industry, vanishing of European steel demand, and a slow growth US economy with very little construction going on plus the Chinese and Indian dumping of below cost steel.

Maybe we need to invest in some innovation for our old industries to keep them clean, and at a low cost, not just new high-tech (perceived eco-friendly) sectors - next maybe, just maybe we need to consider the unintended consequences of attacking our major supply chains from raw materials forward with insane over regulation. And lastly, let's keep investing in pure research for carbon nano-tube construction to eventually replace steel - once it can compete efficiently on its own, and let the free-market entrepreneurs and their Wall Street Investors decide when that is, not some Washington DC crony that wants to score points with left-winger constituents.

Oh, and further more on this topic let's invest in clean coal fired electrical plants and capturing that CO2 for its carbon value to make the carbon nano-tubes. Let's allow these technologies to come together in a Singularity sort of way, with industrial capitalists seeing the value and re-designing that supply chain to compete rather than protectionism of older industries. We seem to be doing everything wrong, and we've completely taken our eye off the ball of free-market capitalism. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Politics and Economics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/


View the original article here

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Benefits of Installing Steel Fencing

When you start to thinking of building a fence around the perimeter of your property you have to think about the materials you will use to construct this fence. One of the best things that you could do is create steel fencing around your perimeter. Steel fencing has many great benefits for the homeowner and the business owner alike.

Steel fencing is made of a durable, weather resistant, tamper resistant, material. It can be designed to be appropriate for the type of enclosure you are making, or it can be designed to look attractive and appealing.

Steel fencing adds value to the property you place it around. Whenever you make improvements the property value increases, and adding this type of barrier around the property would be considered an improvement to the place.

Steel fencing can lower the cost of your insurance. When you have commercial property having steel fencing in place can deter criminal activities like vandalism and theft. The insurance providers give discounts to businesses that install these types of deterrents. These barricades can also be constructed to keep people from being able to wander into areas where they could possibly be injured or come in contact with something that could injure them. The insurance providers will offer discounts to customers that use this type of barricade to stop accidents from occurring.

Steel fencing is strong enough to deter criminals from getting onto the property because it is difficult to penetrate the barricade. Some applications of this type of fencing have increased height and increased strength so that the criminal would need a power tool to be able to cut into the fencing material. This will significantly reduce the amount of vandalism and theft that a business has each year.

There is an old saying that says "good fences make good neighbors". This saying is true to this day. If you have a barrier that defines exactly where your property begins and ends then there will be no question of whether something is on the neighbors property, and there will be no question as to whether your dog is in your yard or not. This means that there will be less disagreements and more harmony in the neighborhood.

Responsible pet owners establish enclosures within their yards so they can keep their animals safe from harm, and they can also protect the neighbors from their animals. Your pets can be run over if they play in or near the road, they can be blamed for damages to the neighbor's property, and they can be abused by people who are prone to acts of violence against these creatures. Steel fencing can keep your animal at home so that you can protect them from the dangers in the neighborhood.

There are certainly a lot of choices in the styles of barriers that you can establish around the perimeter of your property. It would be wise for you to consider what you need the fence for and how you want It to look before you go out and purchase materials to construct it.

Steel fencing has many benefits for the property owner. Steel fencing may reduce the amount you have to pay for insurance and it may even increase your property value.


View the original article here

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Tips on Choosing Steel Security Fencing

There are several things to consider when you are about to choose what type of steel security fencing to install on your property. Most people think of steel security fencing as being just some wire that is stretched between some poles encasing an area of property. In reality the materials used to construct the fence, the design of the fence, and the height of the fence are all dependent on what type of application it is being used for. The typical yard fence is only four foot in height, but a barrier made to protect something should be six to eight foot high.

Steel security fencing is obviously designed to keep something in or something out of an area. If the area is highly sensitive, or prone to vandalism and theft, then the fence will need to be constructed to be taller than average so it is harder for someone to get over the top of it. Of course around prisons and places like that they place razor wire above the steel security fencing so that no one can scale the barrier, but that would be a little extreme for the majority of fencing needs.

Steel security fencing that is designed to be on commercial property to stop people from being in areas that they could be injured should be constructed with steel mesh or bars that are spaced close enough together that children, and pets, cannot get their hands, feet, or heads, stuck between the bars. In order to make these barriers harder to climb the bars are often installed vertically with the spacing too close for a human foot to get between or too far apart for a human foot to get a hold.

Most of the enclosures that are constructed with this material will have sliding gates on them rather than the traditional swinging gates on hinges. The sliding gates are placed on steel security fencing because they are easier to secure than the swinging versions are. The ones that swing open and closed are held in place by hinges that are easy to remove, and that means that thieves can get in if they want to. Remember that a thief will work harder at stealing something than they would have to work to legitimately earn something.

Steel security fencing can be installed as an electric fence to help reduce the threat of someone breaking into the establishment. Electric fences will shock someone if they try to cut into them but they will not do permanent damage to the person. Electric fences are equipped in such a way that should the power to them become disabled they will continue to function at full capacity for approximately ten additional hours. This is generally plenty of time if the power is disrupted by a normal power outage.

This material is strong and the enclosures designed from it do not have to look ugly or like institutional fencing. You can buy very attractive components and panels to use when you create your enclosure.

Steel security fencing is not necessarily unattractive to the eye. Most of the steel security fencing is designed taller than the average fence, and they are built to be stronger than the average fence.


View the original article here

Monday, June 25, 2012

The Flow of Trade Disputes Are as Solid as Steel - They Aren't Going Away Anytime Soon

Some things are worth protecting they say, and one could argue that the steel industry in the US is one of them, and the history to back up that argument is far and wide - trust me. Still, there is a difference between protecting something and protectionism. Okay so, let's talk about this because the politics here in the US when it comes to such things are also quite complex and serious.

It seems we are our own worst enemy 75% of the time, especially when it comes to steel. We've destroyed our mining industry and made it jump through almost impossible environmental hoops, many are way over the top and out of line when it comes to iron ore. But it also takes a special kind of coal to make steel, and that coal comes from many places where over regulation has made mining that coal completely unmanageable.

Now we are worried about foreign nations dumping steel on our markets, often steel which isn't even close to our real needs, mostly because our iron ore in the US is much more pure, but also our standards in manufacturing are higher as well. Nothing new, we went through this before with Japan also. Reuters had a piece recently justifying the tariffs we've put on Chinese steel pipes imported to the US; " U.S. Steel warns imports threatening pipe market," by Matt Daily posted on June 19, 2012. The article stated;

"Steel imports have jumped nearly 28% this year. U.S. Steel has been among the most vocal in the industry in pointing to potential trade violations, and DC has increased pressure on both China and India. It had determined that Indian companies were selling circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe in the US nearly 50% percent below fair market value. Cheap Chinese steel imports have also attracted punitive duties in the US. China made those US duties the subject of a trade complaint at the WTO."

We ought to also talk about the quality of that steel, and its long-term survival rate from corrosion and rust in this debate. Still, cheap pipe is a good thing. Maybe we need fewer regulations here at home so we can compete head to head - and insist that other nations also implement similar restrictions on coking coal soot and CO2 and if they won't maybe we need to add that cost in tariff and give that money to the oil and gas industry. That would solve the problem.

And a big problem it is too, in fact, as I was almost completed with this article another ominous piece appeared in the same business newspaper "Steelmakers Gird for a Downturn" by John W. Miller and Mathew Day on June 20, 2012 which cited a perfect storm - increased US regulations, increased employee costs (ObamaCare), slaughtering of the coking coal industry, vanishing of European steel demand, and a slow growth US economy with very little construction going on plus the Chinese and Indian dumping of below cost steel.

Maybe we need to invest in some innovation for our old industries to keep them clean, and at a low cost, not just new high-tech (perceived eco-friendly) sectors - next maybe, just maybe we need to consider the unintended consequences of attacking our major supply chains from raw materials forward with insane over regulation. And lastly, let's keep investing in pure research for carbon nano-tube construction to eventually replace steel - once it can compete efficiently on its own, and let the free-market entrepreneurs and their Wall Street Investors decide when that is, not some Washington DC crony that wants to score points with left-winger constituents.

Oh, and further more on this topic let's invest in clean coal fired electrical plants and capturing that CO2 for its carbon value to make the carbon nano-tubes. Let's allow these technologies to come together in a Singularity sort of way, with industrial capitalists seeing the value and re-designing that supply chain to compete rather than protectionism of older industries. We seem to be doing everything wrong, and we've completely taken our eye off the ball of free-market capitalism. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Politics and Economics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/


View the original article here